A Solid Start For New Boss Ross
Tue 2nd September 2014 | Atherton LR | By Ian Templeman
A month into his first campaign as manager at Atherton LR, Ross McNair says he is happy with the start his newly built squad has made.
Ross is a familiar figure in local football around the Atherton area, having played for Daisy Hill, Ashton Town and both Atherton clubs in a long playing career, and he says that he is delighted to get his first chance in management at LR, a club he captained for several seasons.
"I played at the end of last season at Tempest United, in the West Lancashire League, and I told them I wanted to go and try management", said Ross. "I was going to go to be the assistant manager at Ladybridge in the West Lancs, but then the opportunity came up to come back to my old club.
"I couldn't wait to get started, and I've enjoyed every minute of being here".
After taking over as manager, Ross had to build a squad from scratch, but his first signings were two people he knew very well - former Atherton Colls manager Steve Pilling, and Steve Rothwell, a former team mate of Ross's, who he has recruited to his coaching team.
"They have been my biggest signings really", Ross admitted. "Steve Pilling's knowledge is tremendous, his appetite for the game has never changed, and he is enjoying it as it's a fresh challenge for him. He is good at working with young lads, and Rothy is exactly the same.
"We are all winners, we all want to win, and although we understand we will have ups and downs it obviously helps a lot when you have guys like them with you".
Although he and the two Steves have many years experience in the NWCFL, Ross has used his more recent knowledge of the West Lancashire League to build his squad at Crilly Park.
"We have brought in players from the West Lancs League and give them a chance to use this a stepping stone to move on", he said. "A lot of them have wanted to play in the North West Counties for while and this has given them a great chance to do it.
"I was playing in the West Lancs Premier for Tempest last year and got know a lot of lads playing in the league, and I know a lot of local players anyway".
With the new squad having made a solid start, Ross is now looking for them to build on the foundations that have been laid.
"We just need to keep the good run going and maintain a place in the top six, and I don't see why we can't do that. We started off well, beating Hanley who are a good side, then drawing with Darwen who will be there or thereabouts, and beating Barnton 1-0.
"Then we went to Daisy Hill, and no excuses, they just turned us over. it was good in one sense in that it brought the lads back down to earth a bit, and made them realise we have a lot of improvement to make yet.
"But we have been improving and that is what matters. Our young players are keen, they want to listen and learn, and it is a pleasure to work with them. They have a terrific attitude.
"We are not naive, we know we won't probably win the league but we will give it a good go, and the target is to be one place better than we were last year".
A Solid Start For New Boss Ross
Tue 2nd September 2014 | Atherton LR
By Ian Templeman
A month into his first campaign as manager at Atherton LR, Ross McNair says he is happy with the start his newly built squad has made.
Ross is a familiar figure in local football around the Atherton area, having played for Daisy Hill, Ashton Town and both Atherton clubs in a long playing career, and he says that he is delighted to get his first chance in management at LR, a club he captained for several seasons.
"I played at the end of last season at Tempest United, in the West Lancashire League, and I told them I wanted to go and try management", said Ross. "I was going to go to be the assistant manager at Ladybridge in the West Lancs, but then the opportunity came up to come back to my old club.
"I couldn't wait to get started, and I've enjoyed every minute of being here".
After taking over as manager, Ross had to build a squad from scratch, but his first signings were two people he knew very well - former Atherton Colls manager Steve Pilling, and Steve Rothwell, a former team mate of Ross's, who he has recruited to his coaching team.
"They have been my biggest signings really", Ross admitted. "Steve Pilling's knowledge is tremendous, his appetite for the game has never changed, and he is enjoying it as it's a fresh challenge for him. He is good at working with young lads, and Rothy is exactly the same.
"We are all winners, we all want to win, and although we understand we will have ups and downs it obviously helps a lot when you have guys like them with you".
Although he and the two Steves have many years experience in the NWCFL, Ross has used his more recent knowledge of the West Lancashire League to build his squad at Crilly Park.
"We have brought in players from the West Lancs League and give them a chance to use this a stepping stone to move on", he said. "A lot of them have wanted to play in the North West Counties for while and this has given them a great chance to do it.
"I was playing in the West Lancs Premier for Tempest last year and got know a lot of lads playing in the league, and I know a lot of local players anyway".
With the new squad having made a solid start, Ross is now looking for them to build on the foundations that have been laid.
"We just need to keep the good run going and maintain a place in the top six, and I don't see why we can't do that. We started off well, beating Hanley who are a good side, then drawing with Darwen who will be there or thereabouts, and beating Barnton 1-0.
"Then we went to Daisy Hill, and no excuses, they just turned us over. it was good in one sense in that it brought the lads back down to earth a bit, and made them realise we have a lot of improvement to make yet.
"But we have been improving and that is what matters. Our young players are keen, they want to listen and learn, and it is a pleasure to work with them. They have a terrific attitude.
"We are not naive, we know we won't probably win the league but we will give it a good go, and the target is to be one place better than we were last year".
